Geology 101

Class 7
Spring 2014
Volcanoes of the World
Source:After R. Decker and B. Decker, Volcanoes, 1981, W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, NY.
Igneous Processes and
Mineralization
Most copper, silver, gold, iron, chrome, etc.
found in ores in deposits created near the edges
of intrusive plutonic interaction

Fractional crystallization leaves behind
concentrated minerals in hot (steam)water
solution

Pegmatite contains large crystals formed in
mineral rich hot/steamy remains of fractional
crystallization


Example of Hydrothermal Formation
Hot fluids are
mineral-rich and
are forced into
cracks, fissures
and pores. Gold
and silver are
commonly
associated with
hydrothermal
formation.
480km to east-west and
240km to north-south,
Bushveld Igneous Complex
Large layered igneous intrusion - tilted and
eroded in South Africa.

This basin contains some of the richest ore
deposits on Earth

Vast quantities of platinum, iron, tin,
chromium, titanium and vanadium

Bingham Canyon Copper mine south west of Salt Lake City is mile deep, several
miles across and produces copper, gold, and silver. The ore is low grade, yielding
13 lb of copper for every ton of ore. http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/histgeol/penrose/penrose.htm
Igneous rock groups
Granite-Rhyolite (Orthoclase and quartz)
Diorite-Andesite (Sodic plagioclase, Pyroxene,
Amphibole)
Gabbro-Basalt (Calcic plagioclase, olivine, pyroxene)
Peridote Ultra-mafic (Olivine&pyroxene)
Obsidian glassy
Scoria Surface frothy basalt- low silica
Pumice gassy, light basalt - high silica
Tuff pyroclastic rock formed from ash and dust
Breccia volcanic rock formed from larger
fragments, glass, pumice and scoria

http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/fichter/IgnRx/di
sthtml.html
ENVIRONMENT OF FORMATION
Later we will see how
this relate to
how rocks erode?
Class Objectives - Chapter 4
Explain the conditions under which rocks melt into
magma and the relationship of those conditions to plate
tectonics
Describe the processes that produce the three major
types of magma and the resulting differences in the
nature of the eruptions and intrusions that take place
Relate the magma types to the range of minerals
produced.
Recognize the various types of the igneous structures
and the resulting landforms and mineral/rock textures
Recognize the connection between igneous processes
and the creation of valuable mineral ores like gold,
silver, copper, iron, platinum, etc.
Objectives Chapter 5
Describe the two types of rock weathering
and the resulting sediment types
Describe the processes that lithify
sediments into sedimentary rocks
Classify the major clastic and
chemical/biogenic rock types by
composition and texture
Describe the connection between
depositional environment and the type of
sedimentary rock that can develop there.
Define the connections between
sedimentary formations and fossil fuels
Sedimentary rocks
Almost 90% of earth crust - igneous rocks
Sediments and Sedimentary rock- 5% of
outer 16km of Earth but 75% of surface
Fluid deposited minerals that lithified
99% shale, limestone, or sandstone
46% 22% 32%
Clay CaCO3 SiO2
Sedimentary rocks form from weathered,
transported and deposited sediments
Weathering
Weathering is simply:
Chemical and/or
Physical
breakdown of a rock material












Physical or Mechanical
Weathering
Rock is split or broken into smaller pieces of the
same material - No change composition.
Example: Breaking of a rock cliff into boulders and
pebbles

Types of Mechanical Weathering
Frost action or Ice Wedging:
Water expands 10% when it freezes.
Tremendous pressure on container.
Water in the cracks of rocks wedges
the rock apart when it freezes.

Environments where temperatures
range around 0 degrees Celsius
Effective on rock and northern
highways




Mt. Whitney, CA
Bare mountaintops are especially
subject to ice wedging.
Types of Mechanical
Weathering
Repeated wetted and drying
Especially good at destroying
rocks that contain clay.
Clays swell up when wet and
shrink when dry.
Mudstones and shales most
suspectible.

Types of Mechanical
Weathering
Action of plants and animals:
Larger trees and shrubs may grow in the cracks of
boulders.
Ants, earthworms, rabbits, woodchucks, and
other animals dig holes in the soil.
These holes allow air and water to reach the bedrock
and weather it.

Types of Mechanical
Weathering
Loss of Overlying Rock and Soil
Sheet jointing on a granite outcrop
produces cracks - exposing more of
the rock surface to weathering.

EXFOLIATION


Central Texas Uplift
Enchanted Rock
Types of Mechanical
Weathering
Action of plants and animals:
Lichens and mosses grow on rocks
They wedge their tiny roots into spores and
crevices.
Larger trees and shrubs may grow in the cracks of
boulders.
When the roots grow, the rock splits.

Roots use chemical warfare more than force!

Ants, earthworms, rabbits, woodchucks, and other
animals dig holes in the soil and weathered material.





Lichens and grass attacking andesite
outcrop in Bogota, Colombia - Summer 2012
Bio-Mechanical Weathering

Types of Mechanical
Weathering
Granite exfoliation
Summary Physical Weathering

Frost action

Wetting and drying

Action of plants and animals

Loss of overlying rock and soil
EXFOLIATION
Chemical Weathering
Rocks minerals are changed into different
substances.

Water and water vapor are important agents of
chemical weathering.

WATER and its bi-polar covalent bond will
eventually wear everything down

Example: Formation of clay minerals from
feldspar
Types of Chemical Weathering
Results mainly from the action of rainwater,
oxygen, carbon dioxide, and acids of plant
decay on rocks.

Dissolves

Oxidizes

Hydrolysis reactions


Agents - Chemical Weathering
Rainwater dissolving oxygen, carbon
dioxide, and acids of plant decay.
Carbon dioxide dissolves easily in water.
Carried through the ground to the
bedrock.
Dissolves the ionic bonded minerals like
rock salt, calcite, (limestone,
dolomite), and gypsum
Agents of Chemical Weathering
Has the greatest effect on calcite than any
other mineral.
It dissolves it completely, with no clay left
over.
Agents of Chemical Weathering
Hollows out great caverns in limestone
bedrock.

And Sinkholes
like the Wink Sink
This photo of Lime Sink was taken on 20 July 1932, over a week after the drawdown,
which occurred over the night of 9-10 July.
Karst landforms develop in areas underlain with
limestone
Hydrolysis of Igneous Rocks
Chemical Weathering
The chemical reaction of water with other
substances is called hydrolysis.

This attacks minerals in our igneous rocks
like :Feldspar

Common Clay Type
Oxidation of Igneous Rocks
Chemical Weathering
The chemical reaction of oxygen with other
substances is called oxidation.
Iron-bearing minerals are the ones most easily
attacked by oxygen
These include
Magnetite
Pyrite
Dark-colored ferromagnesian silicates
OLIVINE
AMPHIBOLE
PYROXINE